Where does “adulterate” come from?

Adulterate comes from Middle English adulteren, from Old French adulterer, from Latin adulterāre meaning "to corrupt or make impure."

adulterate (English): Tending to commit adultery; Corrupted; impure;...

Definitions

  1. Tending to commit adultery; Corrupted; impure;...

Ancestry of “adulterate”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Latinadulteratusadulterated
2Latinadulterōto commit adultery (with)
3Latinad-to; usually prefixed to verbs, in which cases it...
4Latinīn-un-, non-, not
5Latinînin, at, on, upon, from (space)
6Latinenlookǃ beholdǃ; reallyǃ?; come onǃ
7Proto-Italicenin
8Proto-Indo-Europeanh₁énin

Words derived from “adulterate

Every word from Proto-Indo-European h₁énEvery word from Latin īn-Every word from Latin ad-